Effects from the World Cup are turning up in quarterly reports -- and setting some companies up for tough comparisons ahead

World Cup Winner: Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD)

Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) beat Wall Street’s profit and revenue estimates. Partly, that was due to a long NHL playoff season, the NBA playoffs and the Final Four, but the World Cup was put BWLD over the top. As CEO Sally Smith said in a press release:

“With the 2014 World Cup, we had an opportunity to showcase the brand and capture sales from the growing U.S. soccer audience. Sales during the tournament were robust, contributing [1 percentage point] to our company-owned same-store sales increase for the quarter.”

The World Cup extended into the current quarter, where it boosted same-store sales at company-owned locations by another 3.3 percentage points.

If BWLD has a hard time beating those same-store sales figures next year, don’t forget how much the World Cup helped in 2014.